Chapter 141, Day One: Chaos
Fengdu, the Bridge of Helplessness.
The nameless man stood there, the young man quietly gazing at the River of Oblivion beneath his feet, a smile on his face, his mind blank.
"Sect Master."
Unwilling to drag herself here, the woman stood beside the young man with her head down.
"Wu Xin, look, this is the River of Oblivion."
The young man smiled wryly, but Wuxin remained silent. At that moment, they stood on the Bridge of Helplessness, gazing together at the ever-flowing River of Oblivion.
The River of Oblivion, also known as the River of the Womb, is where both forgetting and rebirth occur.
Qin Tianshu, that name, should also go with the River of Oblivion.
In the end, you're just a book I often read.
...
Nameless: "Nine Stars and Blood Array, are you ready?"
When I awoke from my dream, nine stars had fallen.
Back at the Jizhou inn, the scholar and Wen Chuan chatted for a long time, eventually learning that the star in the Qing Shui jade pendant was actually on the wooden carved pendant hanging from Qing Yu's waist, and that the star represented by the carriage had entered a page of the scholar's book before they entered Fengdu.
Flower pendant, book paper, sword tassel, locust flower petals, nameless stone, poisonous spider, golden compass, blood-dripping guillotine, and, the life of a young boy.
In fact, the scholar did not lie back in the ancient desert.
The nine ancient stars can only be destroyed in Fengdu.
The River of Oblivion is their final resting place.
...
Unfortunately, at this moment, all nine stars were in the hands of the Nameless One. And at this moment, the Nameless One stood on the Bridge of Helplessness, watching the River of Oblivion flow endlessly, and finally, he fell silent.
With the Nine Stars in hand, he still needs to forge a sword in the South China Sea—by the will of Heaven, he is the messenger. Once the Starry Divine Sword is forged, the lives of millions of beings across the Nine Provinces will be absorbed into the Blood-Sucking Array. Nameless, he can become a god and reshape Kunlun.
Actually, it's only three days... Three days, Wuming thought calmly. Perhaps, these three days can also allow Kyushu to "make preparations".
His words were light yet tinged with coldness, while Wuxin remained quietly standing behind him. The woman in green paused for a moment, her memory of what they had done that year like a flickering shadow, long gone.
Finally, the woman looked up at the young man. He didn't look at her, but she smiled at him.
"Of course, it's ready, Lord."
...
At this moment, in Kyushu, it is the first day.
Danzhou.
Demon Suppressor Zhu Mengfeng slammed the letter to pieces on the table. The young man stood up in disbelief and exclaimed, "He's gone mad!"
What nameless?! What disaster?! What a state needing to save a million lives?! They've gone mad! They've all gone mad!!!
"My lord! My lord!"
Bai Lang rushed over and, seeing Zhu Mengfeng's panicked state, shouted, "The Prefect has cut off the official roads from Danzhou to Jiaozhou and Jingzhou! He's even sent troops to seal off the city and patrol everywhere. Now, Shen Qi has already led his troops to the Demon Suppression Pavilion! The Prefect himself said—"
"The nameless master of the Demon Suppression Pavilion is a heretical cultivator of this era, who intends to sacrifice the lives of countless people to achieve his evil goal!"
"grown ups,"
Bai Lang looked at the letter on the table, and the middle-aged man said in disbelief, "This...is it real...?"
Zhu Mengfeng gripped his sword, looked up at Bai Lang, and said in a deep voice.
"Bai Lang, gather all the members of the Demon Suppression Pavilion and fully cooperate with Governor Shen's arrangements..."
"The Nine Provinces are about to descend into chaos..."
...
Jiaozhou.
Wang Chengmo looked at Yin Da and said in a deep voice, "Your Yin family has played a clever game!"
"With heretical cultivators in power, you actually colluded with the governor to seal off the city and select people!"
"Should we really fulfill the nameless man's words and offer human blood as a sacrifice?!"
"Nonsense!"
Yin Da suddenly looked up at him, the woman also extremely angry, "I have been catching demons every day and have not returned home for many days. It is that governor who is cowardly!"
She paused, looking out the window at the seemingly still peaceful streets of Jiaozhou City, and said, "My Yin family has produced a scoundrel, and I will deal with it myself... But now, what we should really worry about is Wuming! It's Kyushu!"
That one man who created the Demon Suppression Pavilion of the Nine Provinces, is now a wicked cultivator who has gone mad by the pursuit of the Heavenly Dao!
"My lord! Something terrible has happened, my lord!"
"Look up at the sky! There are people in the sky!"
"Look! It's really in the sky!"
Before the shout had even faded, the people sighed in dismay.
At this moment, above Jiaozhou, a man in blue stood among the clouds, looking down at the city, and calmly smiled.
“I have received the mandate of Heaven and know that a great calamity will soon befall the Nine Provinces. An earthquake will occur, and a dark sun will rise. At that time, all living beings will not be able to survive.”
"To save the people, in three days, one million lives must be sacrificed in each state to quell the disaster and cleanse the world."
"Three days later, Heaven will come to take it."
As soon as he uttered those words, a thousand voices erupted. Those who disagreed shouted and yelled, but the person in the clouds simply waved his hand lightly, and that person died instantly.
There was great chaos in the city.
Wang Chengmo looked up at the young man in the sky, and for a moment the man was incredulous, then he sighed in disbelief, "Absurd, absurd..."
...
Jingzhou.
Shengjing, the imperial palace of the Yan Zhou dynasty.
Princess Jinning stood outside the Emperor's bedchamber. A short while later, the physician emerged, knelt before her, and trembled, bowing his head, saying, "Your Highness, His Majesty... His illness is terminal, beyond cure..."
"You're talking nonsense! You're a quack!"
The second prince suddenly appeared, pointing at the healer and cursing him angrily, but then his aunt said in a deep voice, "What are you doing!"
"Yan Xuanci! You are the prince most valued by your father! How can you be so flustered at a time like this!"
Yan Xuanci lowered her head. The young man hesitated for a moment, then finally looked up at her and said, "Aunt, Wuming just spouted nonsense in Shengjing! Even Wuming of the Demon Suppression Pavilion, who tried to refute him, lost his life with a wave of his hand... Right now, the city is filled with lamentations, and even the Demon Suppression Pavilion itself is in chaos and fighting amongst itself. We are already..."
"So what!"
Jin Ning stared at Yan Xuanci, and the woman spoke with an unprecedented seriousness and authority.
"Your father is seriously ill, and before suspending court, he has chosen you as the crown prince! You are the one who oversees the court! The son of the emperor! The common people may panic, but you cannot!"
"How can the words of this heretical cultivator be believed! If it were truly a calamity from the heavens, with cultivators from all over the land before him, why would he alone be needed to shield them, let alone sacrifice countless people! It's utterly absurd!"
"By order of the Emperor, seal off Shengjing to stabilize the people's hearts. No official of Yan or Zhou is permitted to leave the city! Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot. Shengjing must not be allowed to descend into chaos!"
"Send messengers to awaken the spirits of all families and proclaim to the governors of the Nine Provinces and the Demon Suppression Pavilion that an evil cultivator has descended to earth and must do everything in his power to quell the internal strife in each province. Absurd words must not be believed!"
"yes!"
Just as Yan Xuanci was about to leave, he asked Jin Ning one last time, "Aunt, if, in the end, it really is..."
Jin Ning looked at him, and the woman spoke calmly and assertively.
“If no one can stop evil practitioners, then we should stand at the forefront of these millions of people.”
“Xuanci, if your father were here, he would say the same thing.”
"Go."
...
Jizhou.
Standing on a high point, the demon-suppressing envoy Mu Ke watched the city descend into chaos, with cultivators fleeing in all directions, killing each other, and sighing repeatedly.
With a "whoosh," a sword aura rang out, and Mu Ke drew his sword to counter it!
"Mu Ke! You are a demon-suppressing envoy, yet you have sided with evil cultivators, disregarding the lives of living beings. Have you gone mad?!"
It's Yun Jiacheng from Yunzhou... No, Yun Jiacheng is here, but the one who just drew his sword was Yun Jiabai from the darkness!
"What do you know!"
Mu Ke, sword in hand, looked at them and cried out in helplessness and pain.
"You have no idea how terrifying this Nameless One is! He's insane and obsessed, attempting to cultivate the Heavenly Dao in a human body! I never believed he could succeed!"
"But, but now that he's standing among the clouds, I know he has succeeded!"
"He succeeded!"
"My friends, a million lives are better than the tens of millions of lives in the entire land!"
Yun Jiacheng looked at him in disbelief, "What are you saying? Are you crazy?!"
"I wasn't wrong! Even that sword cultivator who wielded the immortal sword, the flower demon, and countless other cultivators combined... were no match for the Heavenly Dao!"
"So what!"
Yun Jiacheng stepped forward and grabbed Mu Ke by the collar. The young man, furious, dragged him to the window and pointed out, shouting at the deafening sounds of battle raging in Jizhou City—
"Look at these people! Look at them! You are a cultivator! A demon-suppressing envoy of a prefecture! How can you so easily abandon them!"
"Today he is an unknown man who can take the lives of millions; tomorrow he will trample the entire land under his feet!"
"You can kneel and beg for survival, but what about the Nine Provinces? Will they all have to kneel before this cannibalistic evil path?!"
"Mu Ke! Wake up!"
...
Youzhou.
Wen Guhuaiyuan stood by the window, sword in hand, blood dripping from the tip of the blade, drop by drop.
"It's better to kill him."
Murong Wanzhi kicked the governor's corpse on the ground and said, "The guard battalion has sealed off the city for patrols, and the people from the Demon Suppression Pavilion have also been dispatched to other towns in Youzhou by me."
Youzhou was a harsh and cold place, sparsely populated. Even in prosperous times, it only had a population of one million. A single sentence from Wuming sealed the fate of the entire Youzhou.
Even if there is only a sliver of hope, they cannot give up.
Wen Gu Huaiyuan: "If you see that Ayu is here, I will go to Tianbi City, and you will stay in Youzhou City."
At this critical moment, it's hard to guarantee that no one will take the opportunity to cause trouble. Even cultivators feel uneasy, let alone innocent mortals.
As the most outstanding cultivators in Youzhou, they should rightfully stand at the forefront.
Murong Wanzhi sighed silently, then said, "You arrived late and haven't seen Wuming yet... That man looks just like Qin Tianshu, but his cultivation is far more unfathomable. With a single thought, he can kill a cultivator. Many people in the city believe his words..."
The governor who had hoped to escape with the help of the guard battalion was dead, and now they could be said to be in charge of Youzhou. Even so, the people in the city were in chaos, as if the end of the world was coming. Several cases of burning, killing and looting were reported in an instant...
If Youzhou is in such a state, what about other states, such as Jingzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou, where the population exceeds one million or even ten million? Wouldn't those people caught in the "choice" be even more disastrous?
Three days—how terrifying, "the day of waiting to die."
Wen Guhuai gazed into the southwest, then lowered his eyes and replied.
"Wen Chuan, Qing Yu, Qin Tianshu... Wuming is Qin Tianshu, so who will stand against him..."
Where is the vitality of the land?
...
Liangzhou.
The sound of wind and sand, the resounding beat of gongs and drums, all strike at the heart.
In Jinsha City, Xiao Enci stood before the drum, the woman holding the drumsticks, striking it again and again, "Dong! Dong! Dong!"
Once everyone in the city had quieted down, she turned around and nodded to Wei Feng in the center of the platform.
This year, the city lord of Jinsha City is only fourteen years old, but at this moment, he must stand up and stand before everyone in Xiliang to tell them with absolute certainty—
"Evil practitioners are prevalent in this world, using absurd words to deceive people's minds!"
"In the vast expanse of China, there has never been such a human sacrifice before!"
"This is a man-made disaster, not a natural one! The people of Xiliang must fight against it together and must not listen to the words of evil cultivators!"
"I, the Wei clan of Liujin, hereby swear that I will live and die with Xiliang!"
Suddenly, a cry rang out. It was the innocent cultivator who had rebelled against the nameless man lying on the ground, and his mother had just seen her child's body.
Wei Feng looked up at the sky, closed his eyes, and felt the dry, abrasive sandstorm in front of him, desperately swallowing the sourness and pain in his throat.
Just now, news came from outside the city that Wei Xun took the initiative to attack Wuming, but was ultimately defeated and fell in front of Liujin Tomb.
My brother said that the power of the nameless is comparable to the Heavenly Dao, and he proved this with his death.
Finally, he opened his eyes. The young man, his face youthful yet filled with utmost solemnity and calm, looked at the crowd and spoke, word by word, to the endless sandstorm.
"If Heaven does not bless Xiliang, nor the whole country, we shall bless it ourselves."
...
Yizhou.
Everyone in the Western tribe wore heavy, eerie masks. They lit bonfires, painted totems on them, and waved torches step by step, chanting "Hey hey ha ho ho." Some people knelt down, opened their arms, and cried loudly, as if they felt the cruelty from heaven.
"Wu Zan, are you crazy? You're still thinking about attacking Qishan at a time like this!"
Inside the house, Azhi glared at the Western Clan Elder and said, "Everyone in Yizhou City is living in fear. You don't want to quell the rebellion, but you're adding to it!"
Wu Zan looked at the newly appointed female chieftain of the Miao village and said in a deep voice, "I used witchcraft to divine that Wuming is indeed the one who has received the mandate of heaven!"
"A million living beings, but the population of Yizhou is less than a million. So what are the remaining living beings? Aren't they just the monsters in Qishan!"
Azhi stared at Wuzan, her eyes wide with anger, and said, "So what if it's destiny! In ancient times, when the heavens sent down a great flood, the Nine Provinces never yielded. Now that evil cultivators are in power, how can we allow ourselves to fall into chaos!"
She stepped forward, looked into Wu Zan's eyes, and said, word by word, "Of the nine Demon-Suppressing Pavilions, only Yizhou is neighbors with demons. As the Demon-Suppressing Envoy, don't you know that there are also benevolent people and rulers among the demon race?"
"You say the demon race is not human? Then what about my Miao, Xi, and Wa tribes of Yundi? Aren't they all considered outcasts by the people of Kyushu? According to you, the people of Kyushu should be thinking of sacrificing the lives of us minority tribes to that nameless one right now?!"
Wu Zan: "You woman, you're just making excuses!"
"Wu Zan!"
Azhi had never been so clear-headed and in so much pain. She had seen good people, bad people, good demons, and bad demons. Nothing could be simply dismissed with the excuse that they were not of her kind!
"The Nine Provinces have always been the Nine Provinces of all spirits. At this moment, we must unite."
"Elder! Elder! Elder!"
A deafening shout rang out, and Wu Zan immediately called out to the window, "What's wrong! Has something happened in Yizhou City?!"
Xie Tongguang, pulling along a chubby-faced young boy, hurriedly stopped. Behind them, a golden monkey sat atop a coffin. He looked up at Wu Zan and shouted.
"No! It's Qishan!"
"People from Qishan have arrived—no, demons have arrived!!!"
...
Xuzhou.
Lan Xuancheng stared silently at his old friend's corpse. The middle-aged man's hand, gripping the sword hilt, trembled slightly. He asked the people behind him, "What do you think that Nameless did?"
"My lord, Wuming said from heaven that a million lives must be sacrificed in Xuzhou in three days. At that time, Lord Cai was in Xuzhou. He immediately drew his sword, but he was defeated in just three breaths... Before Lord Cai died, he said that although Wuming cultivated the way of heaven, he had evil intentions."
"He told us that we must save Kyushu..."
"But now... the entire Nine Provinces are in chaos..."
Trembling, even tearful voices echoed in Lan Xuancheng's ears. The middle-aged man gripped his sword, staring intently at the chaotic and wailing Xuzhou city. Stepping forward, he resolutely gave the order.
"All members of the Demon Suppression Pavilion in Xuzhou have been mobilized to join forces with the city's guard battalion to quell the internal strife!"
"Send people into the city to appease them; the evil cultivator's words are utter nonsense!"
"Send people to inspect Xuzhou City, Gengsheng City, Suzhou City, and all other towns!"
"I'll go see the governor immediately and get the best carrier pigeon—"
"Chirp—chirp,"
Suddenly, a high-pitched, sharp cry rang out. In an instant, a gust of wind rose, and a mighty and awe-inspiring gyrfalcon flew in. It flapped its wings and soared high, flying straight to stop in front of Lan Xuancheng.
Lan Xuancheng stared at the eagle in silence, almost speechless.
That was the gyrfalcon that Cai Danglu bought in Yunzhou with all his savings before his death, and he named it Qingcang.
The old lone wolf was overjoyed. He said it was rare for him to find something that would keep him company, and this was the first time he'd ever shamelessly come to him to borrow money. As soon as he got the money, he happily showed it off to the eagle, saying that in the future—
Although he was a lone wolf, he had the mighty Qingcang on his shoulder.
One man wields a knife, blocking the way for life, never yielding even to the heavens.
He has lived a life without regrets.
...
Qingzhou.
It was already night, and they had all gone out, some to quell the chaos, some to find their way, and some simply to wander aimlessly.
Lin Fanxiang stood on a high place, gazing at the stars, her expression serene and silent, looking at the vast expanse of stars.
Fate, fate, fate is so cruel.
"Fan Xiang,"
Before she knew it, Qingyu had walked up to her side. "Fanxiang."
She just called him that, but actually, Qingyu didn't know what to say. Qin Tianshu, this scholar, always waved his fan and smiled all day long. Who would have thought that he was the master of the Demon Suppression Pavilion, Wuming?
In this world, there are indeed people who cultivate the Way of Heaven, and the Way of Heaven is so ruthless towards all living beings.
Lin Fengxiang chuckled softly, looking up at the sky as she spoke.
"My uncle said that when he was a child, he dreamed that a woman called him and asked him to help her find a black cat. My uncle was very confused, but his grandfather and father could not see anything in the stars."
"It's my uncle, my mysterious uncle Yan Lin'an whom I've never met before,"
He said that his uncle was chosen by Meng Po, and that he would definitely be able to enter Fengdu in human form in the future.
He also said that when his uncle really goes to Fengdu in the future, he must remember to save one person, one who can change everything.
Lin Fanxiang looked up, somewhat dazed. "What are they saying? I don't understand at all. What kind of person is my uncle? ... Saving people, but my uncle saved me. Can I change everything? Can I?"
"If it were me, why couldn't I even save Ah Xuan?"
"At that time, I was just walking along when Brother Wenchuan seemed to have seen something and immediately chased after me..."
"Later, I just stood there all by myself. I couldn't find any of you. I just stood there, and I kept calling out in my heart, 'Ah Xuan, where are you? Ah Xuan...'"
"Qingyu,"
Lin Fanxiang looked at Qingyu. She had been numbly busy in the city all day, rescuing people, quelling the unrest, and comforting others. She hadn't even had a sip of water. It wasn't until late at night that she stood here, looking at the stars and thinking about what had happened yesterday.
Everything happened too fast. Zhang Xuan died, Qin Tianshu became an unknown evil cultivator, the Nine Provinces were in chaos, the city was filled with burning, killing, and looting, the old people, women and children were crying, and the thousand spirit carrier pigeons in the sky came one after another. Everything seemed to be forcing them, forcing them to forget everything and only care about the chaos in front of them.
As night fell and Lin Fanxiang looked at the stars, it suddenly dawned on her.
“I saw him, Qingyu,”
"I really saw Ah Xuan, I really did,"
"I clearly saw him."
“It was very, very dark there, but I still saw him. He was standing there, covered in wounds and blood. I saw him, and he saw me too…”
"Qingyu, I...I...I clearly...we clearly..."
Tears blurred her vision, and tears streamed down her face. Lin Fanxiang trembled as she called out Zhang Xuan's name. Qing Yu finally stepped forward and hugged her. She also blinked away her tears and said to Lin Fanxiang,
"Fan Xiang, Zhang Xuan died because of Wuming,"
"Now that the entire land is in chaos, we must find a way to decipher the star map and defeat Nameless. Only then will his death not have been in vain,"
"Fan Xiang, we must, we absolutely must find a way out for Kyushu."
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